Clutch problem?
 

Good morning, bad timing for me, we moved to S. Carolina and I need to have use of my Model A Pickup as my driver for a few weeks and the clutch seems to be bad or something else. First it started to make a “ mechanical” noise and I could feel a vibration. This would happen when I stepped on the clutch or released it in gear only. Not in neutral. Also i want to say the clutch does not feel like it is engaging as it is now very difficult to put into first gear without a substantial,amount of grinding. I did remove the access plate and grease it and I have to say that did stop the problem for a short time, say about three hours af drive time. I can smell a faint odor of rubber. Thanks for the help

Re: Clutch problem?
 

Make sure your pedals are not touching the battery cable. That could be the smell. No rubber in the clutch to burn. Where are you in SC? Some good model a clubs there.

Re: Clutch problem?
 

Could the burning rubber smell really be burning clutch? Sounds like it’s failing to disengage rather than slip. Been discussed many, many times. Check for a crack in the clutch arm, adjust for 1-1.5” of free play in the pedal. Is the vibration you get clutch chatter?

Re: Clutch problem?
 

I’m happy to say we are in Camden, very beautiful and I love the heat hate the cold. Moved from Cape Cod Ma. I just took another look. It is a vibration as if something is loose. It does make the sound in neutral as well and it is not constant. Sometime it will make the sound when I hold the clutch in other times it will vibrate as I release the clutch or when I depress it. I don’t know if the Oder of rubber is a factor but I did not smell anything today. I am looking forward to going to some shows and finding out where I belong!

Re: Clutch problem?
 

Did you look at the clutch movement, by operating the pedal when you had the inspection cover removed for greasing the throw out bearing?

Re: Clutch problem?
 

Could you give an idea of the condition of the clutch to help diagnose the problem?
- Is this an early 1928 multi-disk clutch?
- Are these older parts? Been in the car a long time?
- Were any parts replaced or worked on recently?
- Are you confident that the clutch pedal is adjusted properly?

Here is one common problem with the single-disk clutch systems that's fairly easy to check (but it doesn't exactly match the symptoms you are describing):
Is the clutch arm (its on the Throw Out Bearing "TOB" shaft (that comes out of the left side of the bell housing) still the original factory arm? The original arms tend to crack/split at the hub, then you cant get enough travel on the TOB to disengage the clutch, even though the pedal still has full travel. The crack will get larger as you press the clutch pedal in.